Gram Bread for Machine Baking

Gram Flour Bread Machine Flour.

So...I'm no expert on this stuff, but I think it's lower GI and contains more protein.

I found the recipe somewhere on the internet and emailed the text of it to myself, so sorry to the author who I can't credit.

This is not my work, but it's light and fluffy and toasts really well.

It makes a 1.5 lb loaf.



Ingredients

• 1 1/8 cup Chickpea Flour (Weird measure, eh? 1/8 of a cup is 2 tablespoons) or 160g
  
• 1 cup cornstarch or 130g
  
• 1 cup + 1 Tbs.Tapioca Flour (Another weird measure, go figure) 150g
  
• 3 1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gumor or Guar Gum (I used Xanthan Gum) 10g
  
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt - 6g
  
• 3 Tbs. brown sugar - 45g
  
• 1/4 tsp. Ascorbic Acid (I had none :-(, but I'll try it with it next time)
• 1 Tbs. toasted sesame seeds
• 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 1/8 cup warm water
• 3 Tbs. vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast

Method

• Combine first seven ingredients.
• Mix together, eggs, water, and oil.
• In a large capacity bread machine add dry ingredients, liquids and yeast in order recommended by manufacturer.
• Bake using white bread setting and medium crust or your specific gluten-free program. (I used medium crust setting and found it a bit hard, I'll try light next)
  

By Hand (I never succeed by hand, haven't tried this). Beat together, dry ingredients, liquids and yeast. Transfer to a lightly oiled 9-x-5-inch loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise to the top of the pan. Bake 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack.

Shep!

Bread Sticks!

These are GF/CF and yeast free too

The recipe is adapted form one I found here.

These turned out really nice.

Incredible in fact.

Definitely try this recipe!

Ingredients

1. 1/2 cup milk - I used hemp milk
2. 3/4 teaspoon honey or agave nectar
3. 1/4 cup shelled organic hemp
4. 1/2 cup rice flour (or gf/cf flour)
5. 1/3 cup tapioca flour
6. 1 teaspoon cornstarch
7. 2 eggs - split into yokes and whites
8. 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
9. 1/2 teaspoon salt
10. 2 Tablespoons olive oil (plus 1/2 teaspoon for the baggie)
11. 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
12. Herbs to taste (I used dried chives)
    

Method

1. Preheat oven to 22 degrees centigrade
   
2. Mix the dry ingredients and herbs
   
3. Add all the wet ingredients except the egg yokes at once
4. Beat with a mixer for 2-3 minutes
5. Put some oil on a non stick baking sheet
   
6. Put some oil in a plastic bag and spoon the batter in
7. Cut the corner off the bag and working quickly pipe the batter onto the baking sheet
8. Bake for 13-14 minutes
9. Beat the left over egg yokes
   
10. Remove from oven and glaze with the egg yoke you saved from earlier
11. Sprinkle with sea salt
12. Return to oven for another 4-5 minutes

Enjoy!

I'm not telling porkies...on the contrary, I'm eating them!

Great Gluten Free Sausages and Nitrate Free Rashers

If, like me (and my whole family!), you love rashers and sausages, then fear not brave GF/CF dieter. There is a fantastic brand of sausages which have a gluten free bratwurst that is just divine.

You can find them online here: http://www.straightsausages.com/Straight%20Sausages/Varieties%20Bratwurst.html

I contacted them and they said that the bratwurst is the only one they guarantee gluten free as all the rest have oats in them.



They also do a nitrate free rasher, the only one produced in Ireland (to the best of my knowledge). I haven't tried these yet, but I'm heading up there to buy some real soon! The rasher product page is here: http://www.straightsausages.com/Straight%20Sausages/Varieties%20Rashers.html



Their products are available in farmers markets and many outlets. Check out their web site for more details. http://www.straightsausages.com/Straight%20Sausages/Home.html


Stephen!

Yeast of Eden

Edible Bread!

If you've been following this blog at all you'll already know about my pursuit of a decent sliced loaf that doesn't break the bank.

Thus far my many efforts have lead to mostly inedible lumps that would be more at home jamming a door open then they would be in a lunchbox.



That was until....dun dun duh...the breadmaker!

My boss in work loaned me his and I tried out a recipe last night. Thanks Martin!

The results? Instant success; well it took 3hours and 18minutes to cook and I kicked off the process at 9.15pm, so between waiting for the bread to cook and cool I didn't get to bed until after 2am.

The recipe I used is from the excellent "Diet Intervention and Autism" by Marilyn Le Breton.

Ingredients:

Dry Mix

• 2 1/2 cups of rice flour
• 1/2 cup potato starch flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch flour
• 1 tbsp xanthan gum
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 sachet (2.25 tsps) yeast

Wet Mix

• 3 eggs, at room temp, beaten
• 1/4 cup sunflour oil
• 1/2 cup non-dairy, non-soy milk (I use hemp)
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 1 tsp white wine vinegar (optional)

Method

• Mix all dry ingredients bar yeast
• Mix all wet ingredients
• Put wet ingredients into bread maker
• Put dry ingredients into bread maker
• Sprinkle yeast on top
• Set to cook a 1.5 lb (750g) loaf.
• Pick your crust colour
• Hit start
• (Don't use start delay function as the milk could curdle)
• Wait 3 hours 18 minutes (or whatever)
  
• Remove immediately onto a wire rack
• Don't carve into slices until fully cooled.

This makes a wonderful soft fluffy white loaf that cuts really well and makes super sandwiches or toast.

I had a tow truck on hand in case the bread turned out like it's predecessors, but luckily it wasn't needed!

Enjoy!

Spreadable Nirvana

The Holy Grail of Spreads.

Well I've been searching shops since we started the diet a few weeks ago and all the non-butter spreads either seemed to have buttermilk or soya in them!

Well today, while looking for butter in Marks and Spencer, I came across their own brand Non-Dairy spread...and guess what? It has no soy either! So there we have it, a non-dairy spread that is also non soy. Horrah for M&S.

Now...let's see if Conor likes it!

Shep.

Donuts, Is there anything they can't do?

GF/CF Donuts!


If you though GF/CF meant all dry tasteless health food then think again. These beauties are lovely. Rise beautifully and actually taste a bit more like choux pastry then donuts.

They are topped with icing sugar...but what else would you do with donuts?


This recipe comes straight out of the excellent "The Kid Friendly ADHA & Autism Cookbook" by Compart and Laake...I got my copy at the DAN! conference and is nicely dedicated to Conor by the author Dana Laake :-)

Recipe:

• 1/2 cup (80g ) white rice flour
• 2/3 cup (80 g) tapioca flour
• 1/3 cup (50 g) potato starch or (40 g) cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons guar or xanthan gum
• 1 egg beaten
• 1/3 cup (80 g) oil
  
• 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) club soda or sparkling water

Method:

• Combine all dry ingredients and mix together.
• Combine all the beaten egg, oil and milk.
• Slowly mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingretients and mix well.
• Add the sparkling water slowly and beat well.
• Flour a board and your hands - use LOADS of flour.
• Pull small lumps about the size of the plumbs and roll them quickly into ring shapes.
• Deep fry for a minute or less - if you don't have a deep fryer then fry in an inch of oil in a pan.
• Let donuts rise in a warm oven (80 degrees centigrade) for 20 minutes.
• Remove from oven and heat oven to 180 degrees.
• Brush top of donuts with melted ghee
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Enjoy!

The Perfect Scone?

Another Scone Recipe, probably the best.

Well I won't be trying any further variations on scones in any case.

I know I'm kinda obsessing on scones, but Conor loves them! These scone are light and fluffy. Perfect toasted with jam. The secret ingredient is carrot!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of GF/CF flour mix (see below)
  
• 2 tsp Xantan gum
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup or 2 ozs Margarine (I used Stork)
• 1/4 cup veg oil
• 1/4 cup caster sugar
• 1 egg
• A few tbsp of CF milk for glazing (I use hemp milk, but any should do)
• 1 carrot finely grated or juiced

Method:

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees centigrade
  
• Mix all the dry ingredients
• Beat the egg
• Add oil and marg and work until the mix resembles breadcrumbs
• Mix in the egg and carrot (or carrot juice)
• Work into a smooth dough
• Knead the dough until all the carrot is mixed through evenly
• Roll out dough on floured board until it's about 3/4 to 1 inch thick
• Cut out and transfer to a floured baking sheet
• Mix the milk with any left over egg and brush the top of each scone
  
• Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown on top

GF/CF Flour Mix

• 4 Cups Rice Flour
• 1 Cup Potato Flour
• 1 Cup Tapioca Flour
  

These are great split and topped with jam.

Enjoy!

Flour Power

Where can you buy all this weird flour in Ireland???

When I started researching this diet I couldn't figure out what flour could be bought where. unfortunately we're not in a place yet where you can just walk into a supermarket and pick up rice, gram, maize, sorghum etc.







So here's what I have found so far.

• The most common GF flour in Ireland is from Odlumns and is called Tritamyl. Unfortunately this flour IS NOT soy free.
  
  
• Health stores carry a lot of these flours, but in small quantities and at a hefty price.
  
  
• Ethnic stores carry many of them at a great price.
  
  
• Many of these flours can be known by different names. And depending on your cookbook you might need to know all of the synonyms.
  
  
• Flour & Starch seems to be used interchangeably, but I'm pretty sure they're different things.
  
  

Stores
In Dublin city there are several Oriental Supermarkets (There is one virtually on each side of the Deorges Street arcade and there one opposite the Jervis street centre at the Luas stop) which carry:

• Rice flour (* see flour mix below)
  
• Potoato flour (* see flour mix below)
  
• Tapioca flour (* see flour mix below)
  
• Gram flour
• Cornflour (really a thickener, the flour of corn seems to be called maize flour)
• Gelatinous Rice Flour
  

In Afro Caribbean stores you can get

• Sorghum flour
• Yam Flour (I have no idea what you can use this for, I just saw it there)
• Bean Flour (Likewise I have no idea what you can use this for, I just saw it there)
• Maize Flour
• Tapioca Flour
  

In Health Stores you can get

• Rice flour
• Potato Flour
• Maize Flour (I haven't found maize anywhere else)

In Tesco and Superquinn you can get Doves Rice Flour.

Flour Mix

The easiest and most universal Wheat Flour replacement I have found so for is from Marilyn Le Breton's excellent Diet Intervention and Autism. You can cook every recipe in her book with just this mix:

• 4 parts rice flour
• 1 part potato flour
• 1 part tapioca flour

Synonyms


Gram Flour aka Garbanzo Bean, Chickpea or Besan Flour
Tapioca Flour aka Cassava, Manioc or Gari Flour
Potato Flour aka Farina
Corn Flour as sold in Ireland is a thickener, not a flour
Maize flour is corn flour (I think)
Gelatinous Rice Flour aka Sweet Rice Flour




Don't be afraid to go into those ethnic shops! The folks in there are really nice and they'll really help you if you ask.

Don't Try This at Home (Really!)

Bad Ideas...

Well, the idea of this blog was to share our journey on the GFCF diet. There are going to be good and bad days I guess.

Tonight, while mixing a batch of gingerbread I had the stunning idea of adding peas. Yes, you heard it peas. The theory was sound. I got frozen peas and ground them in the coffee grinder until I had frozen pea powder. Then I added them to the mix where they seemingly disappeared.

Indeed they had not disappeared. The magical green powder absorbed moisture while cooking, and although the tops of the gingerbread men look perfect, thet behinds look distinctly soggy.

Chalk that one up the experience!

Shep

Juice Me Up!

Making Fresh Juice

We got our hands on a fantastic Anthony Worrall Thompson/Breville juicer (thanks mam). If you're reading this Anthony please feel free to send us on other kitchen appliances in payment for that excellent plug. A chest freezer would be nice.

Anyway, I'm not going to go into details on this, but suffice it to say that stuff goes in the top, and juice comes out the side. pretty straightforward!

I will say that I'm super impressed with the machine.

One word of warning...if you intend juicing any celery don't bring it round our house. Nasty stuff!

I would have a picture of the juice, but it was so good we just drank it!

Shep.

Milk for Old Rope

Hemp Milk

OK, so you might have read about my failed attempts to make milk from rice...look here. My subsequent attempts were better, but either turned out too thin or too thick.

Anyway...I have moved on to hemp now and with much better results. It's not as illegal as it sounds. Hemp seeds are readily available in many health stores. I got a small pack for 1 euro and 50 cent ... but you don't need much. The small bag was enough to to make 4 liters of milk.

And the best thing?Everyone loves it. It tastes pretty much like cows milk.

Actually that's not the best thing, the best thing is that naturally contains omega oils and protein.

Oh, and it's really easy to make!

Ingredients:
Hemp seeds
Water
SoyMilkQuick Milk making machine
Salt
Honey

Method:
You can probably do this without the milk making machine, but I don't have one, so I can't say.

Measure out a cup of hemp seeds using the supplied measuring cup (which is about the size of 1/2 an American cup )
Soak in 4 measuring cups of water
Soak the hemp seeds for 8 hours
Put them in the SoyMilkQuick machine
Press go
When the cycle finished (after about 15 minutes) add a teaspoon of salt and a tablespoon of honey.

Enjoy

You gotta fight...for your right...to parrrrrrrtty!

Oscars 2nd Birthday.

Well we thought this would be a major hurdle, but with a bit of prep work this passed off ultra-successfully!


Several people asked us if we had caved in and purchased wheat or dairy products, but nope, it was all GF/CF/SF.

So, the main event was the cake. Once again an Orgran one. (Why mess with perfection?).

It was loved by all.

We also cooked apple scone rounds, gingerbread men and another surprise favorite with all the guests...

Vegetable chips (parsnip, carrot and sweet potato).







Shep

It's Your Round.

Another Delicious Variant on the Classic Scone


This recipe comes courtesy of my fabulous wife Irene's childhood. She made this today and it was so good she had to make a second batch. Thanks Irene! You're the best :-)


Ingredients

• 200g rice flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 50g Marg (we used stork)
• 50 g Caster Sugar (we used xylitol instead)
• 1 medium peeled cooking apple or 2 eating apples grated (eating apples are sweeter)
• 3 x 15 ml tbsp milk (we used hemp milk)
• milk and 1 more tbsp milk to glaze

Method

• Preheat oven to 200 degrees Centigrade
  
• Sift flour, salt and baking powder together
• Rub in margarine
  
• Add sugar and then the grated apple
• Add the milk a bit at a time until you achieve a soft dough that is not sticky
• Turn onto floured board and knead lightly

To make one big scone round:

• Form into an 8" circle
• Transfer onto a floured or greased baking sheet
• Score into 8 pieces
• Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar
• Bake for 20-25 minutes until risen and golden brown

To make individual scones

• Cut out scones
• Transfer onto a floured or greased baking sheet
• Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar
• Bake for 15-18 minutes until risen and golden brown

Enjoy!

It's a wrap!

Homemade Wraps

In my bid to find GF/CF alternatives I went looking for a replacement for wraps for lunchtime goodness.

Firstly I tried to make corn wraps just using corn flour, but either Irish corn flour is waaaaay different from the Mexican stuff or else I just made a complete hames of it. In either case I only managed to make a gloopy mess.

Then I tried to make wraps from gram flour. I had more success with this (100g gram flour to 110 ml water plus a pinch of salt. Mix and let stand for 10 minutes, then fry in oil like a pancake), but my mix was too think and didn't spread out right on the pan. I think if a bit diluted that this recipe could work.

Anyway, I next came across a recipe from the Irish Coeliac website and it works great. I'm not claiming credit for this at all, but I will share it (original post here).

Recipe for Corn & Gram Flour Wraps

Ingredients:

• 100g of Cornflour/starch
  
• 25g of Gram Flour ………. (aka Chickpea, Dhal or Garbanzo)
• 5g of Tapioca Flour /starch
• ½ tsp of salt
• 2 eggs
• 150 - 200ml of water (>150 ml gives a thinner wrap / tortilla)
• A little vegetable oil for coating the frying pan.
  

Method:

• Place all the dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and sift 3 times to mix thoroughly.
• Make a well in the centre and add the eggs, beat slowly using a hand-held electric mixer.
• The mixture should be a little thick but smooth.
• Add the water a little at a time mixing well between additions. The mixture will become very runny, that's OK...don't panic.
• When mixed thoroughly, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.
• Remove from fridge and whisk slightly using a hand whisk (to re-mix)
• Transfer batter to a jug (makes pouring easier)
• Heat clean frying pan until very hot (not quite smoking)
• Oil base of frying pan slightly, pour enough batter to cover base thinly.
• Return to high heat, cook until the underside is slightly browned and the sides begin to curl.
• Flip over and cook for ONLY 20 SECONDS (actually I did mine for a bit longer) (the wrap is so hot it continues to cook after it is removed from pan). If left longer than 20 secs the wrap would be cooked right through and with the residual heat start to dry out.
• Remove the wrap and transfer to a plate, Place sheets of greaseproof paper (Baking Paper) on bottom and between layers. (this avoids wraps becoming stuck together while cooling)
  

The Wraps / Tortillas are ready for use or can be refrigerated or frozen until required.

Will keep in the fridge for about 2 - 3 days.
(stand at room temp for about 5 mins before warming)

Will keep in the Freezer for 1 - 2 Months
(defrost fully to room temp before warming under the grill)


Thanks to the original poster of this recipe. Easy to make and great tasting!